MADRID, 30 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Coach María Ribera was appointed as the women’s rugby sevens coach on Friday, the sports department of the Royal Spanish Rugby Federation (RFER) confirmed.
“After a year as coach of the ‘Leonas’, with whom she achieved the objective of remaining in the HSBC SVNS Series with a brilliant tournament in Madrid, María takes over from Alberto Socías who will return to the technical direction, a position he has held with the national team since last summer,” reported the RFER.
Maribí, as the new coach is known, has 176 caps as a player with the ‘Leonas’; she has played in 20 world series, 5 continental tournaments, 4 international tournaments, 2 World Cups and the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
In addition to her experience as a player, in addition to her last season with the senior team and five seasons as head of several clubs in Spain, she also played for the U18 women’s sevens team from 2022 to 2023. In addition, she won two silver medals at the European Championships in which she coached the ‘Leoncitas’.
Ribera will have Álvaro Montero as coach, Carlos Benito as video analyst, Sergio López as physiotherapist and César Rodríguez as rehabilitation specialist. Elisabet Martínez will continue as project manager.
“I’m really excited, it’s a big responsibility and I’m going to put in a lot of work. The identity I’m looking for for Las Leonas is that of a group that puts in a lot of work, is tireless and constantly looking for growth and new challenges,” said the Extremaduran coach, whose main mission is to take the ‘Leonas’ to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The Technical Director of Seven of the RFER, Alberto Socías, explained that Ribera is “a coach committed to the project” and “with a very clear idea of how she likes to work.” “She identifies the different needs of the team accurately, adapting and seeking quality in every minute of training. She enjoys her work and transmits it in a very intense way to the players and colleagues of the coaching staff,” he said.
Among the objectives set for the team, Socías highlighted “continuing to be part of the twelve teams that participate in the SVNS Series” and being able to compete “against the best teams in the world.” “It is a very demanding objective and every year we have the challenge of achieving it. In addition, this season begins a new Olympic cycle. This positively conditions the way we plan our work and our medium and long-term objectives to be as prepared as possible to qualify for the Games,” he said.